Alibaba's Jack Ma to step down in September 2019

Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma will step down as head of the e-commerce giant on September 10, 2019, the company said on Monday.

Current Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang will replace him as chairman, while Ma will complete his current term on Alibaba's board of directors following the company's annual general meeting in 2020.

The businessman described the move as a step up to the "next level of corporate governance", and transition from a company that fully relies on individuals to "one built on systems of organizational excellence and a culture of talent development".

Ma will continue as the executive chairman of the company over the next 12 months.

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The group has the ability to nominate the majority of directors on the company's board, and now five of Alibaba's eleven board members have been nominated by the partnership.

Ma, one of the world's richest men, co-founded Alibaba in 1999 with 18 staff, turning it into a global internet sales and payments behemoth.

Mr Ma has a current net worth of $36.6bn (£28.3bn), according to Forbes.

"Teachers always want their students to exceed them, so the responsible thing to do for me and the company to do is to let younger, more talented people take over in leadership roles", Mr Ma said in a statement on the day of his 54th birthday.

"Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever belong to Alibaba", Mr. Ma said in the letter. Alibaba now also handles digital payments, online banking, cloud computing and digital media and entertainment.

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